Editing Trams in Melbourne (section)

===Cable trams===
{{Main|Melbourne cable tramway system}}
{{See also|Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company}}
[[File:A tram car passes the Federal Coffee Palace in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.jpg|thumb|A tram car passes the [[Federal Coffee Palace]] at the south-west corner of [[Collins Street, Melbourne|Collins]] and [[King Street, Melbourne|King]] streets, circa 1890.]]
[[File:Melbourne cable tram 1905.jpg|thumb|left|Cable tram (dummy and trailer) on [[Lonsdale Street]], circa 1905]]
Melbourne's cable tram system has its origins in the MTOC, started by Francis Boardman Clapp in 1877, with a view to operate a Melbourne tram system. After some initial resistance, he successfully lobbied the government who passed the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company Act 1883 on 10 October 1883, granting the company the right to operate a [[cable car (railway)|cable tram]] system in Melbourne. Although several lines were originally intended to be horse trams, and the MTOC did operate three horse tram lines on the edges of the system, the core of the system was built as cable trams.<ref name=RJones>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/clapp.htm |title=Francis Boardman Clapp: transport entrepreneur |author=Russell Jones |year=2002 |work=Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-date=23 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823001828/http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/clapp.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=MT&OC>{{cite web|url=http://www.tramway.org.au/runningjournal/rj_vol9_no3.pdf |title=The Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company Limited |date=June 1972 |work=[[Running Journal]] Vol9 No3 |access-date=10 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512234645/http://www.tramway.org.au/runningjournal/rj_vol9_no3.pdf |archive-date=12 May 2013 }}</ref>

The Act established the Melbourne Tramways Trust (MTT), which was made up of the 12 municipalities that the MTOC system would serve. The MTT was responsible for the construction of tracks and engine house, while the MTOC built the depots, offices and arranged for the delivery or construction of the rolling stock. The MTT granted a lease to operate the system until 1 July 1916 to the MTOC, with the MTOC paying 4.5% interest on the debts incurred by the MTT in building the system.<ref name=RJones/><ref name=MT&OC/>

[[File:Melbourne’s first cable tram.jpg|thumb|Melbourne's first cable tram service on 11 November 1885]]
The first cable tram line opened on 11 November 1885, running from [[Bourke Street]] to [[Hawthorn Bridge]], along [[Spencer Street]], [[Flinders Street, Melbourne|Flinders Street]], Wellington Parade and Bridge Road, with the last line opening on 27 October 1891. At its height the cable system was one of the largest in the world, with {{convert|75|km}} of double track, 1200 gripcars and trailers and 17 routes covering (103.2 route km or 64.12 route miles).<ref name=MT&OC/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.railpage.org.au/tram/cable.html |title=Melbourne's cable trams |author=David Hoadley |date=8 January 1996 |work=Trams of Australia |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121202914/http://www.railpage.org.au/tram/cable.html |archive-date=21 November 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 18 February 1890, the Northcote tramway was opened by the Clifton Hill to Northcote & Preston Tramway Company. This was Melbourne's only non-MTOC cable tram, built by local land speculators and was operated as an independent line, feeding the Clifton Hill line.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/northcote.htm |title=Northcote: the on again, off again cable tramway |work=Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot |author=Russell Jones |year=2004 |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-date=22 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822235030/http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/northcote.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

When the lease expired on 1 July 1916, all the assets of the MTT and MTOC cable network were taken over by the Melbourne Tramways Board (MTB).<ref name=RJones/> The MMTB was formed on 1 November 1919, taking over the MTB cable tram network, with the Northcote tramway and the tramway trusts transferred to the MMTB on 20 February 1920.<ref name="YT-Trams in Melbourne">{{cite web | url=http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/our-history/trams-in-melbourne/ | work=[[Yarra Trams]] | title=Trams in Melbourne | access-date=26 January 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927162949/http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/our-history/trams-in-melbourne/ | archive-date=27 September 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="The early days">{{cite web | url=http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/our-history/tramway-milestones/the-early-days/ | work=[[Yarra Trams]] | title=The early days | access-date=26 January 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318134537/http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/our-history/tramway-milestones/the-early-days/ | archive-date=18 March 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

From 1924 the cable tram lines were progressively converted to electric trams, or abandoned in favour of buses, with the last Melbourne cable tram operating on 26 October 1940.<ref name="YT-Trams in Melbourne"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://corp.ptv.vic.gov.au/managing-victoria-s-public-transport-network/history-and-heritage/early-history-of-public-transport/ | work=[[Public Transport Victoria]] | title=Early history of public transport | access-date=9 July 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807063057/http://corp.ptv.vic.gov.au/managing-victoria-s-public-transport-network/history-and-heritage/early-history-of-public-transport/ | archive-date=7 August 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref>